Valentine's-Birthday of The Man

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Det alle!


Honey's birthday is Valentine's Day. We were not sure about the traffic and the restaurants in the metro but the celebrant still wanted to go a bit farther this time. Nevermind the traffic. He told me he wanted to breathe a different air because he is already suffocated with SM Fairview, SM the Block and Trionoma air so we went to Greenhills this time *yeah, medyo malayo na yun;)

One of our favorite restaurants in Promenade Greenhills is Little Asia. Honey and I so love the food there, not to mention the ambiance, the mood, and the friendly staff. This resto is what honey and I classify as a "date" restaurant for anyone who asks us where to bring their dates for a dinner, Little Asia is what we ONLY recommend--no loud music, almost-romantic lighting, relaxing and cozy feel. Major plus is the price that is not overly high for a really good food. Whenever honey and I dine there, we end up ordering more than what we can accomodate because we so love ordering all the good food this resto offers. We may have to pay a much higher bill because of that not-so-good habit, but it's still worth it because we always pack the left overs so to have another round of delectable dish when we get home.


We ordered the bestsellers:

For first time diners, these are a must-try dish. The chicken, though fried, is so juicy! And what amazes me is the fact that it's crispy on the outside, yet the juice is very well "trapped" inside. The sauce is as delicious! But honestly, since the chicken itself is superb, I do not need the sauce at all. Salt and pepper pork ribs is also a favorite. I had my first taste of it when my friend Marc and I had lunch one time and this is what she ordered. I ended up eating more than half of the serving. It's a blend of all sorts of spices, coming up with a very delicious breading to cover the tender and juicy pork. The toppings that add color-diced green and red bell pepper-add a major twist to the taste. And of course, the yang chow rice. Who would not order yang chow rice in a chinese restaurant? And who would not want to try Little Asia's yang chow? We Filipinos could never last without a rice, and Little Asia's yang chow makes every meal complete, whatever the viand is.

We also ordered Tofu steak, another favorite and a bestseller, chow mien or pancit canton in layman's term, and another dish in which I forgot to check the name and tastes like korean beef stew. These three are also soooooooooo delicious and tasty and can fully satisfy the tummy.



Again, we ended the day with the usual picture-picture.

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Pre-Valentine and Pre-Birthday Celebration

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Love is in the air, yáll!!

Valentine's Day this year falls on a Sunday. That means heavier traffic, full-packed restaurants, exaggerated selling price of a simple bouquet of flowers, and much-o-much love in the air. There's a cliché thought that for lovers, Valentine's Day is every day, but really, when February 14 comes, lovers exert a huge extra effort to express their loves to each other. And I love it just like that.

Honey's birthday is Valentine's Day. The reason why we never dated alone on that special day. It's been a practice to celebrate birthdays with the family and Valentine's Day would always mean Honey dating the whole family. Again, I love it just like that.

This year though, since Honey has a little version of him already and his first time to celebrate his birthday with a baby he calls his own, he wanted to treat us exclusively for his birthday. Just the three of us. Just "his" family. So a day before his special day, we went to Trinoma and celebrated his birthday there.

We had dinner at TGIFridays. It was a "second round" for us actually. The first one was last Christmas and we did not enjoy the experience. Not because of the food, mind you, but because of the little man. Migo threw tantrums and did not want to be put in the stroller. So now we had another try and good thing Migo cooperated this time. TGIFridays ambiance never failed to give me a happy and bright feeling. Waiters always wearing colorful, attention-catching get-up, and never fail to flash their wide smiles. I never get bored waiting for my order for there are tons of going-ons inside the resto that keep my eyes and mind working. People here seems to be always smiling, laughing and happy and it's contagious. I love it!

Honey and I ordered Jack Daniel's pork chop. This mouthwatering dish is sooooooo superb that two pieces is short for sharing. In fact, two pieces is short for us who have more-than-the-average appetite. I wish they would come up with three pieces soon. The chops are grilled to perfection--soft, juicy, and really tasty. The sauce is what made this dish. The sauce is the main attraction here. Jack Daniels sauce is overly popular here in TGIFridays because of the perfect combination of the ingredients that do not overpower each other. We had around eight refills of this sauce. We end up really full yet satisfied. I love it!

We ended the day with a family picture. This shot is really nice. I love it!
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First "adult food"

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conas tá tú?

February 1, 2010 -- Migo's first taste of what I call the adult food. It was the day after my daddy's birthday bash and mom, who prepared almost every meal in my dad's birthday celeb, was still in the mood for cooking. I made my way to the kitchen to check what could satisfy my already grumbling tummy. She handed me a newly-cooked menudo. Thick menudo sauce, tender bite-sized pork, sweet carrots and chewy potato, oh yum yum!! Paired with uber malata rice... and steaming hot coffee..oh gosh,that was perfect!!

Just when I was about to finish my last two spoonful, I saw my little man in his just-borrowed walker (thanks by the way to his tita Aileen and tito Edwin) staring at me, with that look. That look telling me that he too wanted a bit of a share of what I was having. I shooed away the thought of giving him a tiny serving, but that look!! That look got me. His eyes were begging for it, and his mouth was doing some chewing motions. His mouth was watering! He melted my heart in an instant. Sans the meat, I found myself mashing my last two servings. I gave it all to my little man and he enjoyed it up to the last grain.



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Modern Pinay Wife's Birthday

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Happy morning!

January 23, 19nevermind--- the day I was born. For the past, I guess, seven years, I started treating my family during my birthday. Previous years, it was the duty of my mom or my ever loving nanay Lileng (lola), who I must say I terribly miss on my birthdays since she would always give me a call to greet me a happy birthday and a box of either cake or an ice cream will be sent in the house
afterwards.

Since I got married, I have been celebrating my birthday in two days. First day, the birthday itself, was spent with my family. My Rockville family, as expected, had simple yet satisfying ways to celebrate it. This year, they just requested for a bucket of KFC (hot and crispy and original recipe combo with overflowing gravy), Arjay barbecue (the best in Nova I guess), Jollibee spag (original plan was Tropical Hut spag but the branch near us was under renovation), and two liters of chillin' soda. This setup never failed to remind me of my childhood since these are the very food that I grew up with. These are the food that never failed to put a smile on my face.


Second day, I spent it with my Fairview family. We heard mass since it was a Sunday, then proceeded to Teriyaki Boy afterwards for my lunch treat. Honey and I took charge of ordering the food and we ordered our usual favorite-- Teriyaki Boy Chicken, Tofu Steak, Yakisoba, Japanese fried rice. Two of our dishes we ordered for the first time and turned out to be great too, the Wafu beef and the Cold Soba.


For dessert, Jeff and Brian bought two boxes of Caramia Gelatia. I have been hearing good reviews about Caramia and was always excited to try one. Good thing the two gentlemen got it for us for the taste was really heavenly. I was not able to catch what particular flavor they bought, but whatever that was, it was uber yummy.


We ended our lunch with the very pinoy tradition of picture-picture. Too bad my little sweetheart could not fight his sleep and just went to slumber land.

My baby's birthday gift to me--his first words

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Hallo!

Flashback: Migo and I, along with my mom, visited the pedia for the monthly check up. Honey was in Australia by the way, and thanks mom is always there to fill him in. When the pedia asked me if Migo was already talking, I said not yet. Which was true because he would just make sounds, not talk. "No consonants" was how I described it. Pedia checked the record. Eight months. No talking yet? She then started talking about how important it is to talk to the baby often, face to face, no television, actual interaction, etcetera etcetera. I was not at all listening for I was doing all that already. Even the yaya (I wanted to believe that, but the truth really, I was not sure at all). She then dropped two words that made me focused to her again--developmental pedia.

Developmental pedia?! Wait, wait!! I did not want these words. Did it mean my Migo was sort of slow? Or behind? Eight months and not yet talking. I texted all my cousins and girlfriends and asked them what month their babies started talking. Six months. Seven months. Some even as early as five months. My little man was already eight months!! I got scared really. And how am I going to tell this to honey? I was not able to sleep that night.

That week, we were scheduled to spend it to my parents' place. I asked everyone to talk to Migo as often as possible. It did not come as a problem for they were all really sabik for my baby. Apart from that, I spent several, as in several times in a day talking to him with just da-da-da-da. Just da-da-da for I heard almost babies started with these syllables. I even often sang to him Lady Gaga's Bad Romance replacing the lyrics to da-da-da. That was how determined, dedicated and hopeful I was. It went like that for a week, non-stop.

After one week, we went back to Fairview (had to be back in time for Elmer's arrival). I told honey the "news". He shrugged it off. Okay, at least one of us was not panicky about it.

January 24, 2010-- we were having dinner at the gazebo and all of us were gathered there. Just when everybody was doing their chikas, Migo uttered da-da-da. Yes, he did!! And everybody stopped to listen to what he had to say. My heart skipped a beat as I watched his mouth move, giving out a loud voice saying da-da-da. It eventually became da-da-di and it made Elmer smile. A big smile, actually.

When we said our goodnight's to everybody (since it was already 9:30 and I was set to be strict with that sleeping time), I had a one on one talk with my little man. All I just said to him was thank you, thank you, thank you so much. That was the best birthday gift I have ever received--your da-da-da.
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